sigh. today is the day our little baby turns five.

which means, odin wakes up to find a parade forming in front of grandma’s and grandpa’s house while he eats breakfast on the front porch.

this is the year that i stumble when odin asks why they have a parade and fireworks for his birthday 🙂

thanks to all who have been following along to odin’s adventures for a half a decade!

you can click on each image for a brief description.

when we first asked odin what he wanted for his birthday, before asking for a racing jersey or a scooter or anything else, he said that more than anything else he wanted a walking stick.

"for when we go walking in the mountains together."

a grand idea! even though we had never talked about going for a walk in the mountains.

so, well before his birthday, odin’s grandfather set about whittling a stick from a piece of diamond willow and asked the woodcarver who made odin’s magnificently metaphorical birthday box to carve an image of original odin into the top of the walking stick.

it really is The Perfectly Perfect Walking Stick.

and, much to our surprise, grandpa made us all walking sticks!

we can hardly wait to go for that walk in the mountains.

what a day. finished with fireworks as sleepy children attempt to stay away while watching fireworks go off along towns along across the bay.

of course, i have a complicated emotional response to fireworks.